Rochester Tops Valley In Title Tilt

ROCHESTER - The Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team's New Year's resolution may be to put four quarters of basketball together. The Vikings looked downright dangerous at times in a 62-56 loss to No.8 (2A) Rochester in the championship of the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament Friday night and quite beatable at others. Valley, who had never lost a game in the seven-year history of the tournament, couldn't put together enough offensive consistency to top a talented Zebra squad. The Vikings managed just six points in the third quarter but was able to hold Rochester to just five.Valley then went scoreless in the fourth quarter until senior David Lash hit two free throws with 2:22 left in the game and the Vikings down 52-43. After managing just three field goals for the first 14 minutes of the second half, Valley nailed four three pointers to put the game in jeopardy for Rochester.

St. Joe Tops Cold-Shooting Tigers

Warsaw was up to the challenge of playing a South Bend St.Joseph's girls basketball team with two D-1 recruits in Tennessee-bound Sydney Smallbone and Notre Dame commitment Melissa Lechlitner. But in the championship game of the 28th annual Lady Tiger Tourney, the Tigers couldn't muster any offense against the Indians, as they fell 56-45 after going 17 of 59 (29 percent) from the field. After trailing by as many as 21 points, the Tigers cut the lead to nine late in the fourth quarter and had the ball but could never get any closer. Warsaw struggled mightily from the field, especially in the first half.The Tigers shot just 7 of 30 in the first half with many of those misses coming in the form of layups and wide-open 15-footers. Warsaw went an entire eight-minute stretch without a point as St.Joseph's went from being down a point to leading by 12.

Warsaw Kickers Blank NorthWood

Held scoreless through the 40 minutes of the first half, Warsaw's varsity boys soccer team came back and scored twice in 40 seconds during the second half of Tuesday evening's game at the City-County Athletic Complex. With the two goals early in the second half, the host Tigers broke open a scoreless game and went on to beat Northern Lakes Conference opponent NorthWood 3-0. Asked what adjustments he made or what was different about the second half, Warsaw coach Scott Bauer said that it was that his team was able to finish its opportunities. "We just finished opportunities," said Bauer."We got the same kind of looks in the first half, we just didn't finish.I told them we were getting good looks, we just need someone to step up and take the chance when the moment was there." Enter seniors Austin Evans and Jake Rogers. Evans, one of three Tiger captains, scored the game's first goal with 39:02 remaining in the second half.

Warsaw Pulls Off Another Stunner

A famous Super Bowl play between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills is known as "wide right." For Warsaw and South Bend St.Joe, call it wide left. Just like the Bills' Scott Norwood pushed his kick to the right to give the Giants the Super Bowl title in 1991, South Bend St.Joe's Peter Veldman's 37-yard field goal attempt sailed left and gave Warsaw a 24-21 win over the No.10 team in Class 3A Friday at Fisher Field on homecoming night. The win avenges a 43-0 loss to the Indians last year for Warsaw and puts the Tigers at 3-1 this year, their best start to a season since 1994 when they also began the campaign 3-1.The last time Warsaw won three straight games was in 1992 when it won the first four games of the season. Warsaw was right with St.Joe a year ago before the Indians exploded in the second half for the big win a year ago. But as everybody can tell this year, it is a different Tiger squad this year.

On the Gridiron

Jason Jarrett Smashes Track Record

BROOKLYN, MICH.- Less than a week after picking up his first national-level win, 25-year-old ML Motorsports driver Jason Jarrett has made racing headlines again. Jarrett, the son of Winston Cup points leader Dale Jarrett, ran the fastest lap in Thursday's practice at Michigan International Speedway for Saturday's ARCA RE/MAX Series Flagstar 200 and then backed it up by taking his first pole.The Warsaw-based stock car team sat on the pole for two races last year. Jarrett, in his No.67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Pontiac, circled the two-mile oval at a speed of 185.000 mph in 38.919 seconds. Jarrett became the first ARCA driver to circle the famed oval in under 39 seconds or at 185 mph. NASCAR Busch Series veteran Blaise Alexander will start in the first row with Jarrett after turning a lap time of 39.043 seconds at 184.412 mph.ARCA points leader Frank Kimmel, whose four-race win streak was broken with Jarrett's win last week, qualified third.

Warriors Shifty In Win Over Squires

SYRACUSE - Dramatic momentum shifts were the story Tuesday night as Wawasee got past Manchester in volleyball action 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 25-17. The Warriors jumped out to a 12-4 lead in game one before a long delay killed their momentum. Manchester head coach Sarah Dillon and the referees had to confer about the Squires' rotation, which was out of order. After the delay, Manchester grabbed the momentum and played Wawasee even before falling 25-19. The Squires then outplayed the young Warrior squad to eek out a 26-24 win.Wawasee nearly came back after tying the match at 24-24 but was unable to overtake Manchester. With the quick scoring format used in volleyball, scoring runs can make or break a team. Manchester controlled play for most of the third game and went up 20-13.The Squires seemed to have a hammerlock on the game. The Warriors went on a 5-1 run to close the gap at 21-18 before Manchester called a timeout.

Wildcats Get First Win

SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊAfter a loss to county rival Columbia City last week, it was clear that Whitko wanted to get off to a good start in Three Rivers Conference play as the Wildcats hosted Southwood Friday night. Whitko dominated recent history against the Knights, winning the last three in a row.Friday night was no exception. In typical Whitko football tradition the Wildcats, rushed for a total of 329 yards while cruising to a 41-12 victory. The Wildcats got on the board early on a play set up by Tyler Wilkinson.Wilkinson's first carry went 23 yards.But it was the very next play from scrimmage where Jarad Eberly found the endzone on a 46-yard run with more than 10 minutes left on the clock in the first quarter. "It was important that we come out and establish ourselves early by running the football," said long time Wildcat coach Bryan Sprunger. Whitko continued to rush its way to victory.

Squire Spikers Rally Past Rochester, 3-0 In TRC

NORTH MANCHESTER - Before Manchester's volleyball match with Three Rivers Conference foe, Rochester, the Squires huddled up and did a familiar chant. "What time is it?" shouted the team."Gametime" they answered.Of course, the Chicago Bulls always chant that before each game.Whether the Squires used that as comparison to the Bulls or not does not matter.Because the team they looked like was John Elway's Denver Broncos.Elway is known as one of the greatest come-from-behind performers in the history of sports.However, Manchester gave Elway a run for his money on Monday night. Manchester came from behind three times to defeat Rochester 8-15, 17-15, 15-11. In the first game, Rochester jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but Manchester answered with eight consecutive points to take a one-point lead after a kill by Jodie Peden.Rochester, though, gained back the momentum and finished with eight straight points to win game one 15-8.

Tiger Golfers Take Squires

With first place on the line in the conference golf match this weekend, Warsaw coach Bob Turner was hoping to see his team turn in a solid performance Thursday evening.That would allow his Tigers to gain needed momentum in their quest to beat Goshen at the NLC Championship match. His team delivered, and the unlikely source powering his team to the win was Ashley Cooper.Cooper, a sophomore who golfs in the No.5 spot, turned in a 45 on the front nine at Rozella Ford as the Tigers mopped up Manchester 193-222.It was the seventh time Warsaw shot below 200 this season. The front nine is par 35, and Cooper was trodding on familiar ground.She also shot a 45 at Rozella in late August to lead the Tigers to a win. "She likes this course," Turner said. Cooper's score bettered Heidi Wieland's by 13 strokes.Wieland, who shot a 58, golfs in the No.1 spot for the Squires.

Local Football Games Will Go On Tonight With Special Observances Tonight

In the wake of Tuesday's tragic events, local athletic directors have been faced with decisions they never thought they would have to make. The decision to cancel athletic competitions Tuesday was pretty much a given, but then the athletic directors were faced with the decision of when to resume the regular sports schedule and whether to play football games tonight. "It was a very difficult decision," said Wawasee athletic director Mary Hurley."We decided to have practice Tuesday with no strings attached.If the players wanted to be home with their families, if the players parents wanted them home, they were free to go.It was their decision to be there.Many of the coaches tied in the events of the day at practice, and we have recognized the tragedy at each of our sporting events since.

LaSalle Ousts Wawasee

MISHWAKA - It wasn't any secret at the Mishawaka Softball Regional on Saturday.Wawasee had to play just about a perfect game to defeat its opponent, No.13 South Bend LaSalle, in the first game of the regional. Wawasee needed to bunt, move runners, play sparkling defense and pitch well to upset the Lady Lions.However, it did not take long to find that the Warriors would not be able to do those things with the same ease that they did at the Warsaw Sectional. South Bend LaSalle defeated Wawasee 12-2 by scoring five runs in each of the first two innings to move on to the regional championship.

Northfield Notches Tiger Classic Victories

Warsaw High School hosted the Tiger Classic on Tuesday, but Northfield High School crashed the party, as both the boys and girls cross country teams took first place.The Norsemen also took the individual awards, with runners placing first overall in both boys and girls. The Northfield boys team, ranked sixth in the state in the most recent poll, just squeaked by Warsaw 29-33.Of the top 12 finishers, 11 came from either Northfield or Warsaw.The Tigers' David Hoffert placed second overall with a time of 17:20, 33 seconds behind Northfield's top runner. After a Northfield runner placed third, Will Woodward came in 11 seconds behind him.The Norsemen took both sixth and seventh place, before the Tigers took the next four spots.However, Northfield's fifth runner came in 12th to give the Norsemen the victory.

Meadowlark Moves People With Message

SYRACUSE - The 63-year-old man walks onto the basketball court, a red, white and blue basketball - like the kind the ABA used - tucked under one arm. The people cheer and clap.And yes, when he wraps his hand around the microphone, he owns their undivided attention. That's because he is Meadowlark Lemon, and the former Harlem Globetrotter still works a crowd like no other. Meadowlark made at stop at Wawasee High School on Saturday.He played basketball, told jokes, picked on little kids and talked to crying babies.But the real reason he was here was to talk about God. That's what the man known as the "Clown Prince of Basketball" does these days.Meadowlark, who makes his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., talks about God whenever and wherever he can.He's been an ordained minister since 1986.He's spoken about God in more than 100 countries, from Algeria to Zimbabwe.He's traveled more than four million miles to win people over to God.

Harrison Takes Win From Tiger Clutches

Momentum.It's a powerful equalizer.Often difficult to harness, momentum can cause strange things to happen.The Warsaw volleyball team saw just how important it can be on Saturday, dropping a tight match to Lafayette Harrison in the championship game of the Tiger Spiker Invitational 4-15, 15-13, 15-8. "It's all about who has the momentum and what team capitalizes on it the most," Warsaw head coach Jamie Byron said. After winning the first game 15-4, Warsaw put Lafayette Harrison on the ropes in the second game. After falling behind 9-5 in game two, Warsaw used some Raiders mistakes to reel off eight straight points.Harrison lost five of those points on simple mistakes such as bad sets and spikes into the net.

Warsaw Spikers Suffer Rare NLC Loss

It happens so rarely that sometimes the answers are hard to come by. But it isn't hard to figure out why the Plymouth Pilgrims handed Warsaw's volleyball program just its second Northern Lakes Conference loss in the past eight years, and both at the Tiger Den no less. Defense.Defense.Defense. The scrappy Pilgrims handled everything the big hitters from Warsaw would throw at them and rarely let a ball fall to the court untouched.This tenacious and frustrating defense helped the Pilgrims rally for a 7-15, 16-14, 15-8 win, dropping the Tigers to 2-1 in the NLC.

Goshen Golf Team Owns NLC

MIDDLEBURY - After his team defeated Manchester last Thursday, Warsaw coach Bob Turner was talking about Saturday's Northern Lakes Conference tournament, and he said he knew very well that Goshen could run away from the rest of the field at Spring Meadow.As for his team, he said, he just wanted them to relax and enjoy themselves. His assumption of the Redskins was more than accurate.Goshen won the NLC tournament Saturday with a score of 340.The Tigers finished second with a 397. Over the past four years Goshen has gone 24-0 in NLC round-robin play and won the conference tournament in each of those years.Goshen's score of 340 Saturday is a new conference record, breaking the one it set last year at 346.

Warsaw Loses NLC Match

Wawasee Boys Win X Country Meet By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Writer SYRACUSE -ÊIn a Tuesday evening that saw a controversial girls race and a predictable outcome in the boys race, Wawasee hosted Goshen and NorthWood for the first regular season Northern Lakes Conference meet. The NorthWood girls team came out on top of Goshen and Wawasee after a controversial race.Goshen's Kristen Miller and Josie Caton were well in front of the pack near the end of the race when they took a wrong turn and got off the marked course.By the time they got back on track, they had fallen behind several runners from NorthWood. Panther Nina Bearss ended the race in first place, followed by Miller.NorthWood then secured the win when Heidi Schneider, Cort Sandy and Kim Yoder crossed the finish line third, fourth and fifth, respectively.Teri Schuller, Marie Martin, Holly Hershberger, Leslie Hawkins and Steph Carner each placed in the top 20 for the Panthers.

Tiger Kickers Looking To Get Defensive

Last year was a historic one for the Warsaw boys soccer program.The Tigers won their third sectional in a row, finished undefeated in the Northern Lakes Conference to capture their first outright conference title and went through the entire regular season undefeated. A big part of Warsaw's success was its formidable defense. Goalkeeper Adam Churchill garnered attention from around the state as one of Indiana's premier keepers. Drew Miles and Keegan McHose proved to be solid as a brick wall for Churchill in the defensive third. Churchill is playing at D-I University of Southern Indiana, while Miles and McHose have also moved on to collegiate life. The Tigers' plan to replace Churchill is the two-pronged attack of keepers Aaron Hammon and Justin Evans.Hammon, a senior, and Evans, a sophomore, will have added responsibility with an inexperienced defensive third. Evans got the start in Warsaw's first game, a 3-0 win over Munster.

Second Good As First For Valley

ROCHESTER - Second place was good enough for first place for Tippecanoe Valley's girls golf team in Saturday's match at Mill Creek Golf Course. The Three Rivers Conference Invitational was held at the Rochester course.Nine teams competed, not all of them TRC schools.Eastern took first with 407, while Valley placed second with 420. Eastern won the overall invitational, but Valley finished first among the TRC schools to win the TRC Tournament portion of the invitational. This is only the second TRC Tournament for girls golf teams.Rochester won last year. Valley led the invitational after the first nine holes with 199, but the Vikings shot 22 strokes worse on the back nine for 221. Eastern was consistent, turning in 203 on the front nine and 204 on the back nine.